House chairs, Delores McQuinn (Richmond City, Chesterfield, Charles City, Henrico) and Roslyn Tyler (Brunswick, Greensville, Lunenburg, Southampton, Sussex, Emporia, and Franklin) have endorsed Terry McAuliffe for governor.

The chairs of the House Transportation and Education committees respectively cited McAuliffe’s experience, leadership, and vision on education and for an equitable future as the key reasons for their support. The announcement comes at the heels of McAuliffe’s campaign launch on Wednesday at Miles Jones Elementary School in Richmond, where he was endorsed by Senate President Pro-Tempore Louise Lucas, House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, who will serve as co-chairs of Terry for Virginia.

McAuliffe launched his campaign at Miles Jones Elementary School by announcing his plan to make the biggest, boldest investment in education in Virginia history. As governor, McAuliffe has said he will dramatically and immediately increase teacher pay to get it above the national average for the first time in Virginia history, and ensure that every Virginia student has access to an equitable, world-class education.

“Over the years, I have worked closely with Terry McAuliffe, and I have witnessed first hand his phenomenal leadership skills. About two years ago, when Terry mentioned to me that he was thinking about running, I encouraged him and promised him my support,” said McQuinn. “Today, we are facing unprecedented challenges and I believe our statewide recovery will require a leader who is ready to act big and boldly for all Virginians. He is a proven leader who has been particularly committed to improving the plight of those who been left out and left behind for far too long.

“We need someone who sees this as an opportunity to end disparities in health, jobs, and education. I know Terry McAuliffe well, and I know he is exactly that kind of leader. He has dedicated his life to public service to move Virginia forward. That is why Terry restored voting rights for hundreds of thousands of Virginians, boldly invested in education, and created hundreds of thousands of new jobs. I know as our next governor, along with a Democratic General Assembly, he will go even bigger to make sure Virginia comes back from this pandemic better than before.”

“We are already seeing this pandemic is having disastrous impacts on our kids’ education, particularly among Black and Brown students. I am proud to endorse Terry McAuliffe for governor today because he has demonstrated he knows exactly what our education system needs: going big and acting boldly,” said House Education Committee Chair Roslyn Tyler (Brunswick, Greensville, Lunenburg, Southampton, Sussex, Emporia, and Franklin).

“Terry will think big and act boldly when it comes to education – diversifying our teacher workforce and finally giving them the raise they have needed for too long. Our recovery must go big on education and that is exactly what Terry will do.”

“I am so proud to have the support of these strong leaders in our Commonwealth. We are building a broad and diverse coalition of support that will allow us to address the challenges Virginians are facing. This campaign is about going big and being bold to rebuild a post-COVID economy that lifts all Virginians, and that starts with taking bold action to ensure every student in Virginia receives an equitable, world-class education. Thanks to these leaders, we will get it done together,” said McAuliffe.

McAuliffe’s Democratic opponents, Jennifer Carroll Foy and Jennifer McClellan said they were ready for the primary challenge.”I respect the work that former governor Terry McAuliffe has done,” said Carroll Foy. “But to be frank, he is emblematic of the status quo that has simply left too many people behind.

We cannot take solace in the politics of the past. The politics of the past do not put food on the table. They do not pay the bills. They do not keep working families healthy, safe, or well. They never have.”

“I welcome Terry McAuliffe to the race, and l look forward to discussing my 15 years of experience delivering progressive change and my vision for the future with Virginians in the months to come,” said McClellan. “Even though 2020 has been a turbulent year, I am strengthened by the courage Virginians demonstrate in every corner of the Commonwealth.”